Chương 31: Final push

Blick had a plan. It was pretty simple for him. It would likely cause quite a chaotic response in the soldiers of the camp tho. He wondered off to practice several times so he knew he wouldn't mess up. Two days later he stood ready. He climbed to the top of the tallest tree he could find near the fortress these people had built. With his bow in hand and a coil of braided ivy at his feet, he went to work.

"Captain Fitz, we believe Blick is nearby. The scouts have noticed a large number of yellow and blue birds in the area." He had been known to attract them. Looking off into the woods the scout captain looked to the sky in nearly a circle around the camp.

"It has been random sittings in the canopy nearby. Not a single location. We suspect he has been circling camp." Fitz nodded and moved to remind the soldiers, "I'm not sure if we should be treating him like an enemy, his actions are certainly suspicious, but I would prefer to have a conversation with him before ordering any actual hostility. Tell your men to remain vigilant but not to open fire at the first sign. They have permission to defend themselves."

"Yes sir." The soldier salutes and turns to walk away when a shout comes from the north side of camp.

"In the tree!" An arrow passes overhead and thumps into the singular tree in the center of camp, then another one, and finally a third. Each with a string of something attached. Rope was the best guess. Just thinner than the usual rope.

"Hold your fire!" Fitz yells out after understanding what was happening. As he yells this they see the ropes one at a time get pulled tight. From the direction they came speed Blick.

"What the fuck?"

Blick actually found this part quite fun. He had tried with a single rope in the first couple of practices and found it would come undone dropping him into the jungle below. Three were tested and should work fine. They just made the set up slower. Because it was slower Blick had changed his mind from sliding down the chord, hanging from a stick overhead. The new plan, the one he practiced maybe a few extra times for fun, was relying on a large sheet of tree bark.

He had to find a way to block any arrows the soldiers may send his way. And he couldn't hold onto a shield if he was also holding onto the braid above. Blick had taken quite a lot of time to grow a thick layer of moss on the thick bark before shaving it off the tree. The moss side rested on the top of the braids after he tied them to the branch he was standing on, near the top of the tree. With only a handful of branches blocking his path he made the gap with a blast of leaves.

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Bursting from the trees came the beast man riding on top of a slab of green down the three lines of not rope. The soldiers stared up with mouths open trying to figure out what was happening. A furry grey man with a cloak billowing behind him absolutely flew past them overhead. One of the not rope things snapped under his weight about halfway down and you could hear the gasps from the crowd.

Nearly 300 heads followed the fast moving shape as it crossed from the tree line and into the canopy of the gate tree they were guarding within seconds. As he entered the trees canopy people started rushing towards it to get a better look. Immediately dropping from the branches and holding up his moss covered board as a shield, Blick landed hard and immediately jumped backward disappearing into the void between the runes. Just as fast as the call came up the silence came.

"Holy shit, that was impressive." Fitz exclaimed before ordering someone up the tree to remove the ropes and double check the boundary.

"I'll send a report to higher, not sure we even want to bother chasing him."

The silence was immediate. He remembered this. The run with little legs that wouldn't go fast enough was seared into his memory. A slight tremble settled into his body. A fear he hadn't felt in so long crept in. The last time he saw these trees he was running for his life and he hadn't seen his family since. Then he remembered standing on that river bank tearing into the first fish he ever caught.

With his own drive forward he had conquered the new land, learned a language, cultivated his core, and grown to nearly full size. He had already accomplished much and he was not planning to stop anytime soon. With a clenched fist he stood up and decided to conquer his fear. Within minutes Blick knew he would need to mark this tree better as to not lose it. He may need to go back through at some point. Hopefully long after the soldiers had forgotten about him.

Taking the moss shield and braided ivy he climbed the tree above the gate and tied it up to hang like a store sign off the branch above. With that done he needed to start preparing to search for his old home. The biggest issue was not knowing where to start. It had been over a month of searching for the gate on the other side. And it may be just as much here. But over here was much more dangerous. First step is food. The berries in his small back pouch had made the trip, but that plant was a supplement at best.

If he found nothing for a day or two, he would be in trouble. Knowing there were predators here means there has to be prey. Making a circle of the close area, Blick established his base camp. A large tree nearby would be his hide hole and his lookout spot. Especially tall compared to the neighboring trees, this one was just different enough from the rest that he could point it out. He climbed to the absolute top and looked over the canopy for the first time in his life. The scene was breathtaking.

There was a mountain range in the far distance, some trees where a splash of pink and orange in the see of green. The clouds held a deep purple color against the blue sky. The sun wasn't quite as yellow more as large as the one he had grown use to in the Zipan area. He sat there as the sun began to lower and small noises came from every direction. Nothing he recognized, but he remembered how quiet his people were.

If something out there was making noise then it was either dominant in the location or strong enough to defend itself. Blick wanted to see it. Blick always wanted to see new things. Curiosity was a beast he would never tame.